Raptor ‘was turkey with attitude’

It is portrayed in the Jurassic Park movies as a fearsome opponent, bigger than a man, reptilian and highly intelligent.

But in real life the velociraptor might have been more akin to an ‘oversized turkey with attitude’ than a monstrous terror, new research suggests.

The dinosaur, which lived up to 80million years ago, was a two-legged predator that stood about 90cm (3ft) tall and weighed about 14kg (30lbs).

A close relative of the bird species, it would have had feathers and a scythelike claw on each hand to attack its prey. However, it was unable to fly.

And, while there is some evidence it may have been quick-witted and hunted in packs, it was nothing like the formidable enemy portrayed in the 1993 Steven Spielberg classic.

The findings were drawn partly from a fossil specimen found in Mongolia in 1998, which had evidence of ‘quill knobs’ – bumps where feathers used by modern birds for flight are lodged.

Researcher Alan Turner, of the American Museum of Natural History and Columbia University in New York, said: ‘Finding quill knobs on velociraptor means that it definitely had feathers. This is something we had long suspected but no one had been able to prove.’

But, while the velociraptor’s weight and short forelimbs would have prevented it from flying, it may have had an airborne ancestor that evolved into a grounded species.

The feathers would still have been useful for shielding nests, regulating its temperature or even boosting its agility when running.

Dr Mark Norell, who co-wrote research published in the journal Science, said: ‘There is basically no difference between birds and their closely related dinosaur ancestors. If animals such as velociraptor were alive today our first impression would be they were very unusual-looking birds.’